Few of us would think of turning one of our life experiences into a musical or have the vision and talent to pull it off. But the young Griffin Matthews has done so with the help of co-creator Matt Gould. Together they wrote "Witness Uganda," a show that on opening night had the American Repertory Theater rocking to African rhythms while cutting to the heart of anyone who cares about the future of this world.

The show began as a small but daring infomercial to raise money for struggling students with whom Matthews had worked in Uganda. With the help of many, including the encouragement of composer Stephen Schwartz, the infomercial has bloomed into a magnificent full-scale musical that clearly is going places.

At the very beginning, a projection on the rear wall tells us that the show is inspired by true events. This fact helps give the show its irresistible power as it reveals the heart of those young people today who are willing to lay it all on the line for others while having little idea how difficult and complex that might be.

Early in the show, Matthews, who plays himself using his first name Griffin, tells us all a little of who he is. He's an African-American from Pittsburgh, a trained musical theater actor who decides to work as a volunteer in a school for orphans in Uganda in an effort to find himself. He has been kicked out of the church choir because he's gay, which should be apparent to most American audiences, but isn't to the African students with whom he works. He jokes, "Imagine a gay in a tenor section." He has a lovely tenor voice. And the show is punctuated with moments of fresh, genuine humor as well as an occasional deft monologue that helps to orient us.

His white, female friend Ryan (Emma Hunton) isn't so sure about his decision as she remains in New York City to pursue her career as a folk singer that seems just about to take off. She has a powerful singing voice and can really let it rip. She helps to interweave the two continents and the issues for young people face on them as we hear a song from a folk concert she performs in New York. She serves as a foil to Griffin as their experiences interweave and they have their conflicts.

When Griffin arrives in Uganda, he finds it's tough, complex, and not always as it appears on the surface. Although Matthews wrote the show, it certainly doesn't glorify him or the Africans he meets. Everyone is shown honestly, ultimately revealing their full selves, the best and the worst of them.

He meets Joy (Adeole Role) who is the petite but tough-as-nails manager of the school and Jacob (Michael Luwoye) who cleans and cooks for the school and soon befriends Griffin. We begin to hear about Pastor Jim who runs the school, but we never see him. At first this seems problematic, since he is the primary antagonist, but his dark identity looms large as we hear more about him.

Page 2 of 2 - Soon Griffin's backpack is stolen by a teenage street kid, and Griffin follows him up into the hills where a group of four orphaned teenagers persuade him to be their teacher.

Throughout all of this, the actors sing beautiful, haunting songs written by the composer Gould and Matthews. And an ensemble frequently dashes onto the stage singing and dancing with explosive energy serving as the community surrounding this story. Their dance moves, choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie, have a wonderfully unique African feel to them. The ensemble is dressed in African garb with bright patterns. They serve as a kind of upbeat Greek chorus to the story.

Griffin's relationship with the four students and Jacob, who sneaks off to join them as they meet in an abandoned tin building, becomes the heart of the show. We see conflicts between their two cultures as Griffin struggles to teach them life-lessons. The students are feisty and lovable at the same time. When he tells them he's an actor who collects unemployment, they dream of collecting unemployment in America. Ibrahim (Jamar Williams) wants to find an American wife. Nicolette Robinson as the totally loveable Eden has her eye on Griffin, not realizing he's gay. Grace (Kristolyn Lloyd) raises Griffin's ire by complaining about the color of Sudanese skin. Everyone, including Griffin, has lots of growing to do.

The second act, with some big surprises, weaves between Uganda and the United Sates, and has a knockout American/African dance and a show-stopping American/African gospel song.

Matthews and Hunton both give very honest and charming performances. Role and Luwoye have wonderful layers to their acting as they take us into the darkness that is also part of Africa.

Tom Pye's set is a bare stage that rises and tilts at times, with small evocative set pieces (a line of laundry, a piece of tin siding) and beautiful, projected photos of Africa.

ART's artistic director, Diane Paulus, has done a brilliant job of directing the show and keeping it pulsing with energy.

This show offers a whole new sense of what musical theater can be and do for our world.